BEAUFORT, S.C. — Beaufort, S.C., voters got a concentrated look at local council hopefuls Tuesday evening when the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce staged back-to-back candidate forums at the USCB Center for the Arts on Carteret Street.
The free program ran from 5 to 7 p.m. and was open to the public in person, with a live stream offered on Facebook and the County Channel. County Council candidates spoke first at 5 p.m., followed by Beaufort City Council candidates at 6 p.m.
On the county side, David Bartholomew, seeking District 2, and Michael Andersen, seeking District 4, took questions. City Council seats are nonpartisan and at-large; four candidates are competing for two seats: incumbent Josh Scallate, Thad Lane, Jared Madison and Grady Woods.
The Chamber session was one of several public forums on the fall calendar. City Council hopefuls already appeared at an Old Commons neighborhood night in mid-September and at a League of Women Voters forum on Sept. 29. Remaining dates include a League school-board forum on Oct. 13 at Grace Chapel A.M.E. Church, an Old Commons night for County Council District 2 and House District 124 on Oct. 15, and a Northwest Quadrant forum on Oct. 22 at the Charles Lind Brown Center.
Election Day is Nov. 3. Early voting runs Oct. 19 through Oct. 31, with centers open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Residents who missed Tuesday’s Chamber program still have multiple chances to hear directly from candidates before ballots are cast.
